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A Structural Analysis of the El Kasr Structure in the Western Desert of Egypt

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A Structural Analysis of the El Kasr Structure in the Western Desert of Egypt Scholars' Mine Masters Theses Student Theses and Dissertations Fall 2013 A structural analysis of the El Kasr structure in the western desert of Egypt Trevor Charles Ellis Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsmine.mst.edu/masters_theses Part of the Geology Commons, and the Geophysics and Seismology Commons Department: Recommended Citation Ellis, Trevor Charles, "A structural analysis of the El Kasr structure in the western desert of Egypt" (2013). Masters Theses. 7195. https://scholarsmine.mst.edu/masters_theses/7195 This thesis is brought to you by Scholars' Mine, a service of the Missouri S&T Library and Learning Resources. This work is protected by U. S. Copyright Law. Unauthorized use including reproduction for redistribution requires the permission of the copyright holder. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF THE EL KASR STRUCTURE IN THE WESTERN DESERT OF EGYPT by TREVOR CHARLES ELLIS A THESIS Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the MISSOURI UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTER OF SCIENCE IN GEOLOGY AND GEOPHYSICS 2013 Approved by John P Hogan, Advisor Fransisca Oboh-Ikuenobe Andreas Eckert 2013 Trevor Charles Ellis All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT The El Kasr structure was studied in order to investigate the origins and evolution of the enigmatic Desert Eyes structures of the Western Desert due to its accessibility and uniqueness among the structures. The El Kasr structure, an elongate structural basin with low limb dips, is unique among the “Desert Eyes” structures in that it: 1) occurs in isolation in otherwise horizontal sedimentary rock, 2) the long dimension of the basin is oriented NNW, 3) it is closely spatially associated with the less common NNW fault zones, and 4) is composite in nature. The structure was investigated using remote sensing and field mapping techniques. The structure is defined by basins of prominent carbonates and associated siliclastics. Both basins defining the structure have broad interlimb angles. The structure is truncated along the southwest by a prominent normal fault zone. Evidence for an eastern fault system includes truncation of layers of Dakhla Formation that strike at a high angle to the structure and terminate along possible drag folds and layers of Dakhla Formation that are locally steeply dipping, offset by numerous small faults, and rotated from the strike of the basin. The El Kasr structure occurs in the hanging wall(s) between two fault systems, which appear to merge south of the structure, as an elongated basin sub-parallel to the trace of these faults. Balanced cross-sections of the structure suggest that the El Kasr structure formed within a transtensional zone between overlapping left-lateral strike-slip zones. The sedimentary cover within this zone deformed by drape folding along the margins of the transtensional zone as well as plastic deformation over a graben that developed in the Precambrian basement. The investigation of the El Kasr structure suggests that other Desert Eye structures may have formed through interactions between fault segments and deformation related to rheology. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to extend my sincerest gratitude to Dr. John Hogan for his exceptional guidance and assistance throughout my academic career. To my committee, Drs. Oboh-Ikuenobe and Eckert for their time and talents. To the Department of Geological Sciences and Engineering for the tremendous opportunities and exceptional instruction as well as the peerless camaraderie that makes it special. To the National Science Foundation through the Office of International Science and Engineering, grant number 1030230, entitled Desert Eyes: Origin and Evolution of enigmatic domes and basins in the stable platform of Egypt. To Dr. Barbara Tewksbury for her pioneering work on the Desert Eye structures as well as her tremendous assistance with literature and imagery. To the other members of the Desert Eyes team, including but not limited to, Dr. Kelly Liku, Dr. Charlotte Mehrtens, Dr. Simon Kattenhorn, Dr. Elhamy Tarabees, Cory Reed, Brock Alldredge, Susan William, Steven Gohlke, Claire Sayler, Tucker Keren, Peter Laciano, and Eric Doubet, To the graduate students of the department that continuously offer guidance and support. To Tom Jerris for his assistance with figures. To all the special friends I’ve made along the way. Finally, I would like to thank my wife as well as the rest of my family for their patience and support throughout my studies. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... iii AKNOWLEDGEMENTS.................................................................................................. iv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ........................................................................................... viii LIST OF TABLES .............................................................................................................. x SECTION 1. INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 1 2. REGIONAL GEOLOGIC SETTING ........................................................................ 6 2.1 REGIONAL GEOLOGY OF THE SOUTHERN WESTERN DESERT .. 10 2.1.1 Geomorphology and Structures .................................................... 10 2.1.2 Stratigraphy ................................................................................... 11 2.2 MAJOR STRUCTURAL TRENDS ........................................................... 13 2.3 STATE OF STRESS .................................................................................. 15 2.3.1 Modern State of Stress. ................................................................. 15 2.3.2 Paleo State of Stress. ..................................................................... 16 2.3.3 Seismicity ...................................................................................... 16 3. METHODS ............................................................................................................... 23 3.1 GOOGLE EARTH ..................................................................................... 23 3.2 FIELD INVESTIGATION ......................................................................... 24 3.3 ASTER ...................................................................................................... 25 4. RESULTS ................................................................................................................. 30 4.1 REMOTE SENSING .................................................................................. 30 vi 4.2 STRATIGRAPHY ...................................................................................... 32 4.3 STRUCTURE ............................................................................................. 37 4.3.1 Stereographic Analysis. ................................................................ 39 4.3.1.1 Major folds ........................................................................ 39 4.3.1.2 Minor folds........................................................................ 43 4.3.2 Faulting. ........................................................................................ 46 4.3.2.1 Western fault zone ............................................................ 47 4.3.2.2 Eastern fault zone. ............................................................. 49 4.4 INTEGRATED GEOLOGIC MAP ............................................................ 51 4.5 GEOLOGIC CROSS-SECTIONS ............................................................. 52 4.5.1 Rollover Folding ........................................................................... 54 4.5.2 Transtensional/Drape Folding Model ........................................... 60 5. DISCUSSION .......................................................................................................... 68 6. CONCLUSIONS ...................................................................................................... 73 APPENDICES A. REMOTE MAPPING INDICATORS .................................................................... 76 B. DR. JOHN HOGAN FIELD NOTES, 2010 ............................................................ 78 C. DR. JOHN HOGAN FIELD NOTES, 2011-2012 ................................................... 85 D. TREVOR ELLIS FIELD NOTES, 2011-2012 ........................................................ 94 E. CHARACTERISTICS OF STRUCTURES ALONG THE GEBEL EL-BARQA FAULT ................................................................................................................... 100 vii F.CALCULATION OF DIPLACEMENT ACROSS THE GEBEL EL-BARQA FAULT ................................................................................................................... 102 BIBLIOGRAPHY ...................................................................................................... 104 VITA .......................................................................................................................... 110 viii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure Page 1.1 “Desert Eye” structures associated with the visible trace of a fault.. ........................... 2 1.2 “Desert Eye” structure not associated with a visible fault trace. .................................. 3 2.1. Southeastern portion of the Western Desert. ..............................................................
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